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| A Culture of Organ Donation Can Give Humanity a New Direction | | | Lalit Garg
Throughout life, human beings accumulate many things for themselves—wealth, property, prestige, relationships and comforts. But in the final moments of life, the importance of all these things fades away. At that moment, if an organ of our body can become another person’s heartbeat, if our eyes can bring light into someone’s world of darkness, or if our liver or kidney can rekindle the dying hope of a family, what could be a greater fulfilment of life than that? Organ donation is the profound human possibility of continuing to give life even after death. It elevates a person from living merely for oneself to living for humanity. World Organ Donation Day connects us with this noble idea. Today, the need is not merely to create awareness about organ donation, but to transform the way we think. We must ask ourselves: the body that is destined to return to the five elements after death—would it be more meaningful for its usable organs to disappear with us, or to become a part of someone else’s life? Death is inevitable, but the possibility of becoming the reason for someone else’s life even after our death is within our hands.
India’s cultural memory has a very old tradition of great sacrifice involving the body and life itself. The story of Maharishi Dadhichi is perhaps one of the most powerful examples. According to the traditional narrative, when the gods needed a powerful weapon to fight the demons—one that could be fashioned from Dadhichi’s bones—Maharishi Dadhichi willingly sacrificed his body for the welfare of the world. His bones were used to create the Vajra, which became an instrument of protection and public good. This story is not organ donation in the modern medical sense, but it is certainly a powerful symbol of India’s age-old spirit of dedicating even one’s body to the welfare of society and creation. The President’s Secretariat of India has also referred to the story of Maharishi Dadhichi while highlighting India’s tradition of organ and body donation. The story of King Shibi is another remarkable example of sacrifice and compassion for living beings. To protect a dove, he was willing to offer the flesh of his own body. These may be religious and cultural narratives, but the message they embody remains deeply relevant even today: we should not regard our life and body merely as our private possessions, but connect them with the welfare of the larger world. The Jain philosophical principle, “Parasparopagraho Jivanam”—living beings exist for mutual support and mutual benefit—conveys the same spirit. Organ donation can be regarded as the modern, scientific expression of this timeless idea.
Modern medical science has transformed this spirit of human compassion into a real-life power to save lives. In 1954, the world’s first successful human kidney transplant was performed. Ronald Lee Herrick donated one of his kidneys to his identical twin brother, Richard. This landmark event marked the beginning of a revolution in medical history, which eventually made organ transplantation a source of hope for millions of people. Then, in 1967, the successful human heart transplant demonstrated that medical science could overcome many of the barriers standing between life and death. India, too, has travelled a remarkable journey in this field. The country’s first successful kidney transplant was performed on 1 December 1971 at Christian Medical College, Vellore. At that time, perhaps no one could have imagined that organ transplantation would one day become a new doorway to life for thousands of people across India. Today, medical technology has advanced to such an extent that transplantation is possible not only for kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas and intestines, but also for tissues such as corneas, skin, bones and heart valves.
Yet, while the capabilities of science have expanded tremendously, our social consciousness has not progressed at the same pace. This remains one of the greatest challenges. In India, there is still a significant gap between the need for transplants and the availability of donated organs. Government data indicate that although organ transplantation activity in the country was substantial in 2024, the number of deceased donors remained far below what is required. The message is clear: our hospitals have the technology, our doctors have the expertise and our medical system has the surgical capability—but there are not enough organs to save all those lives that could potentially be saved. To change this situation, we must transform organ donation from a subject associated with death into a conversation about life. Families should discuss the issue openly and well in advance. Schools, universities, religious institutions, social organisations and the media must work together to create an environment in which the idea of organ donation evokes not fear, but compassion and the desire to save lives.
Even today, many people believe that disturbing or donating the body after death is contrary to religious beliefs. Some worry about the next life, some fear the medical procedures involved, while others are so emotionally devastated at the time of a loved one’s death that they find it difficult to make a decision about donation. These misconceptions cannot be removed through confrontation; they can be addressed through dialogue, sensitivity and scientific knowledge. Most importantly, organ donation must be understood not as a religious or social obligation imposed upon anyone, but as a voluntary, ethical and humanitarian decision based on reliable medical and legal information. Yet when a person willingly resolves that his or her usable organs should be given to those in need after death, the final moment of that person’s life can be transformed into a celebration of humanity.
India continues to witness inspiring stories of organ donation. Recently, in Nagpur, 52-year-old teacher Kondba Dattatray Madavi became the 200th deceased organ donor, and his organs gave new life to three people. Such stories remind us that organ donation is not some distant idealistic concept; it is a real, life-saving process taking place around us. In Delhi, the kidneys of a 70-year-old deceased woman were successfully used to give a 56-year-old woman renewed hope of life. This also demonstrates that the organs of a potential donor should not automatically be considered unusable merely because of age; the final decision depends on the person’s medical condition. Several Indian states have set notable examples in this field. In Telangana, the deceased organ donation rate in 2024 was considerably higher than the national average, and its Jeevdan programme facilitated numerous transplants. Tamil Nadu, too, has developed a strong deceased-donation system that has inspired many families. In 2026, one family, despite facing a language barrier, used digital translation assistance to make the decision to donate their loved one’s organs, thereby giving several patients a new chance at life. These incidents demonstrate that when compassion, institutional support and awareness come together, even death can become a means of saving multiple lives.
The greatest beauty of organ donation is that it represents a form of altruism that goes even beyond blood donation. When we donate blood, we give something that the body can replenish; through organ donation after death, we can offer an invaluable gift that may help another human body continue to live. Therefore, organ donation must not be understood merely in the language of medicine, but also in the language of human relationships and compassion. We must remember that the decision of a single donor can touch many lives. Organ donation is therefore not merely an act of helping one individual; it can bring hope to several families. Light in someone’s eyes, a heart beating inside another person’s chest, the strength of new lungs sustaining another breath, or a transplanted organ functioning in another body—all of this can become possible because of the generosity of an unknown donor.
Therefore, organ donation must be taken beyond the idea that death marks the end of the body and connected instead with the profound concept of “giving life even after death.” Death is darkness, but organ donation is a lamp lit within that darkness. A lamp burns itself, yet its light becomes visible to others. In the same way, a donor may leave this world, but his or her organs can continue to illuminate life as another person’s breath, heartbeat or vision. Our greatest wealth is not what lies in a bank account, nor what is locked inside a safe, nor what is registered in our name. Our greatest wealth is what can continue to save a life even after we are gone.
On this World Organ Donation Day, we should not merely resolve, “We will donate our organs.” We should take one step further and resolve to talk about organ donation with our families, dispel misconceptions and spread this life-saving awareness throughout society. Because the final chapter of life should not necessarily be death. It can also become the beginning of a new life for someone else. Let us dedicate our final legacy to humanity. Let us light the lamp of organ donation so that it may illuminate someone’s fading life. Let our death become the reason for someone else’s life—for there can hardly be a more beautiful way to die or a more meaningful way to live.
“Let the body depart, but let its compassion live on.
Let our breaths cease, but let someone else continue to breathe.
This is organ donation; this is the highest gift to humanity.” |
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